There are many diesel engine applications where the engine can potentially run at high RPM's for long periods of time without being loaded. Applications such as wood chippers, shredders, rock crushers and liquid waste skimmers are typical. One specific example of this is where a wood chipper is sitting and waiting for an operator to feed tree branches into the intake portion of the chipper. If the chipper runs at high RPM's during the course of operation and many instances of “down time” are experienced, the diesel engine of the chipper is needlessly consuming fuel and wasting the operator's money.
In the experience of these inventors, there is a clear need to provide a diesel engine controller that reduces overall fuel consumption by reducing fuel consumption between loads. There is also a need to provide such a controller that is pre-programmable and easy to use in the field.